Nautical Flagpoles: Gaff, Yardarm and Masthead
| Category: | Flag Ceremonies |
|---|---|
| Link: | Performance Example |
| Notes: | For camps, waterfronts, Sea Scout bases, yacht clubs and VFW or American Legion posts with a ship-style mast. The flag order comes from naval and yacht-club custom, not from a law. Sources: the USPS (America's Boating Club) Flag and Etiquette Committee's gaff-pole FAQ, the Navy's NTP 13 flag manual, and the Flags of the World discussion of gaff displays. Check with whoever runs the mast before you hoist, because some places have their own policy. |
The Ship-Style Flagpole
Some camps, waterfronts and veterans' posts have a flagpole built like a ship's mast, with a crossbar and an angled arm. The first time a Scout raises the colors on one, the question comes up: why does the U.S. flag go on that slanted arm, lower than the top of the pole? The answer comes from how ships fly their colors.
⚓ Parts of the Mast
- Truck (masthead): the very top of the mast.
- Yardarm (crosstree): the horizontal crossbar. Each end has its own halyard. The two ends are the starboard (right) arm and the port (left) arm.
- Gaff: the short spar angled up and back from the mast. Its outer end is the peak.
🧭 Which Way Does the Mast Face?
Treat the mast as if it were a ship. The gaff points aft, toward the stern. On shore it normally points back toward the building, and the "bow" faces out toward the water, the parade field or the audience.
- Stand at the building and face the pole. Starboard is on your right.
- To an audience facing the pole and the building, starboard is on their left.
- The Navy's rule for shore flagpoles says the same thing: judge right and left as you look from the main entrance of the building toward the pole.
🇺🇸 Where Each Flag Goes
| Position | Mast with a gaff | Mast with a yardarm, no gaff |
|---|---|---|
| Gaff peak | U.S. flag, the place of honor | (none) |
| Truck | Club burgee, or a camp or unit flag | U.S. flag |
| Starboard yardarm | Next most senior flag | Next most senior flag |
| Port yardarm | The flag after that | The flag after that |
The gaff is the place of honor because a ship under way flies its national flag from the gaff, at the stern, where the captain commands. That's why the U.S. flag goes there even though the truck is higher. When a yardarm has more than one halyard on a side, the outermost one ranks highest.
🎖️ U.S., State and POW/MIA Flags
Fill the yardarm in the same order you would use on a single pole. That order depends on your state; see POW/MIA Flag Order: Texas and Other States.
- Texas: U.S. flag at the gaff (or at the truck with no gaff), Texas flag on the starboard yardarm, POW/MIA flag on the port yardarm.
- States that put POW/MIA second, such as Florida: U.S. flag at the gaff, POW/MIA flag on the starboard yardarm, state flag on the port yardarm.
- In Texas, state code says no other flag should fly above the state flag. A burgee or camp flag at the truck sits physically above the Texas flag on the yardarm, so consider leaving the truck bare when the state flag is flying.
⚖️ Isn't the U.S. Flag Supposed to Be Highest?
This is the most common objection. The U.S. Flag Code says no flag should be placed above the U.S. flag. Yacht-club custom and Chapman's seamanship guide read "above" as directly above it on the same halyard. A burgee at the truck is on a different halyard, so by that reading it isn't above the flag. No law sets the order for a gaff mast. The gaff custom comes from naval tradition, and the Coast Guard called it "in good taste" in 1986 when a VFW post complained.
Plenty of camps and posts still fly the U.S. flag at the truck to avoid confusion. Either choice can be defended. Pick one, follow whatever policy the owner of the mast has set, and be ready to explain it.
Tip for Color Guards: Hoist the U.S. flag first and lower it last, just as on a single pole. With several Scouts on the halyards, assign one per halyard. Have them hoist together right after the U.S. flag, briskly, and lower together just before it, slowly. Walk the crew around the mast once before the ceremony so everyone knows which side is starboard.